Tesla minibus and semi truck set to debut next year, CEO says

Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk laid out phase two of his Master Plan, revealing several new types of vehicles in the company’s pipeline. Now Musk has officially confirmed plans to unveil two of those products, an electric semi-trailer truck and a new type of minibus, by mid-2017.

“We expect to unveil those for the middle of next year, maybe the next six to nine months type of thing,” Musk said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call this week (via The Verge). “And then [we’d] have a better, more fleshed-out plan for when those would enter production.”

Musk described the Tesla Semi in his updated Master Plan, promising to reduce the cost of cargo transportation while also improving safety and making it fun to drive. He also argued that self-driving buses using the company’s autonomous technology could be smaller and more efficient. We’re excited to see both vehicles unveiled, though knowing Tesla it could be another year or two before they actually hit the market.

Musk noted that the “obvious priority” after the Model 3 launches will be a compact SUV, which is mentioned in the new Master Plan along with an electric pickup truck. The Tesla CEO didn’t say when we can expect to see these new consumer vehicles unveiled, but it sounds like the company isn’t wasting any time moving on to phase two.